Warning Signs
by rileysdelko
Summary: While investigating a homicide, two CSIs are faced with an incident that leaves one fighting for their life. Set around Season 9. Kinda Casefic. Multi-chapter. [ON HOLD]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: While the team are working on a double homicide, Nick's girlfriend makes an appearance and an incident takes place. Kinda casefic.

_Disclaimer (so I don't get sued): I don't own anything. All rights reserved._

Story Notes: Set around Season 9.

_\- CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -_

It was all strangely a very busy day for the department. There were cases happening left and right, which meant everyone was on call. For Catherine's team, they had been assigned a double homicide case with everyone included. Days off had been cancelled and plans had to be postponed. It was like a crime wave had hit Las Vegas at an unfortunate time of the year.

Greg, Nick and Riley weren't too keen on cancelling their plans, but it was too late now. All three of the younger team members hitched a ride with Nick as they'd all been in nearby places when they got the callout. It hadn't been as any of them had expected. Stokes had been hanging at a burger joint with a few friends, Sanders had been doing God knows what at a club where a certain singer had been performing and Adams, it was safe to say she had been doing something related to firearms or vehicles.

"I've got the car." Riley said as she headed in the direction of the garage.

Catherine then looked at the two guys. "Nick, you go with Ray.. Sanders, you can help Riley." They both nodded to their supervisor, heading in opposite directions. Greg went the same way Riley had gone and Nick went to go find Langston. CSI Willows had some evaluations to fill out and a meeting with Ecklie about Sara, so the least she could do was make sure her team was in order.

* * *

Adams, now clad in navy overalls that read 'FORENSICS' on the back, was under the car to take a better look at to what had gotten caught. "Got anything?" Greg questioned her, slipping into his own overalls. Riley was just examining until she'd noticed some blood splatter on the exhaust. "Pass me a swab. I've got blood."

She reached her hand out and he handed her a sterilized swab, which she then used to collect a sample of the blood and handed it back to Greg. He slipped it into the labelled box to get to DNA later on. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" "Yeah! I used to do mechanics in my spare time while I was in college! What 'bout you?" She smiled, pushing herself out from under the car after taking a few photos.

"Ehh, I did a lot of things in college but work wasn't one of them.."

"Oh so you were a party boy?" She laughed, noticing a piece of flesh trapped within the tyre.

Riley swabbed the flesh as she pictured her partner rolling his eyes. "You're thinking the worst of the worst. That's not me." She placed the boxed up swab next to the first on the counter. The blonde picked up her camera and continued to take photos, still laughing. "Yeah, yeah.. whatever you say, Casanova."

She continued to take photos of all the tyres with a funny image now stuck in her head. Greg was processing the inside, looking for any specific pieces of evidence that would help them with their double homicide case. As he was handing Riley a bloody wrench he'd found, his eyesight got caught on a dark-haired woman that looked a little lost. Sanders was very tempted to go help her but he knew that Riley would find a way to torment him about it if he had done so.

"That's Nick's new girlfriend. I'd keep you mind out of the gutter if I were you, Sanders." Riley warned.

Greg sighed. The woman waved to him, biting her lip as she walked away. She was practically asking for him to help her.. but he wouldn't because he valued Riley's opinions about his actions.. to a degree. "How come we've never seen her before.. and how do you know her?" Riley began writing on the label of the evidence bag. "She used to go to my college. Not a science or forensics major though. She was a major in economics and criminal law." Riley then put the wrench in the box of evidence and made her way around to the back of the car.

Sanders mused. _Sounds like every best major for working in the Treasury Department, or IAB. _"What's her name at least?" "Her name is Becca. Becca Ashley. Pass me the crowbar, will you?" Greg nodded, picking up the crowbar and handing it to her as he continued to examine the car. The blonde didn't know why he was so interested, nevertheless, it seemed he got more turned on the more she answered his inquiries about the woman.

The younger CSI popped the trunk open and discovered a wired car bomb. "Crap." She quickly dusted for prints all along the back of the car and collected them. "Greg, hurry up! There's a car bomb!" Riley took pictures of the bomb, then packing up her evidence into the evidence box with all their other stuff.

Greg sped up his processing of the car and even found some Y2k pills in the process. He photographed the last of the car and got the trace on the steering wheel, knowing that he had to do this in time. That's when both of them heard a beeping sound come from the boot of the car and were panicked by it. The car was about to blow.

"Come on!" She shouted, pushing him out of the door and sliding the evidence boxes out of the way as the vehicle exploded behind them. Both of them were violently flung by the impact and slammed into the floor as smoke fumes filled their airways.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: While the team are working on a double homicide, Nick's girlfriend makes an appearance and an incident takes place. Kinda casefic.

_Disclaimer (so I don't get sued): I don't own anything. All rights reserved._

Story Notes: Set around Season 9.

_\- CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -_

Heads turned as they saw the explosion from the garage. The two CSIs lay on the ground, disoriented and feeling nauseous. Someone called in the bomb squad, while another alerted the other people on the other levels of the building. Becca had been going to ask the CSIs for advice when she witnessed the scene. Greg and Riley passed out on the ground, covered in ash and dust.

Greg drowsily sat up, looking at the evidence that sat untouched in the corner with the lids on. They'd been smart enough to keep everything they collected from being contaminated, which was good on their part because it meant it could still be of use to the investigation. He blinked rapidly, in attempt to clear the blurring of his sight. It proved to work as soon enough his sight cleared up a lot better.

Beside him, still lay his co-worker that seemed to have taken the more dangerous hit for them both. Greg knew that she had been the one to push him out of the way of the explosion, but had his safety come at the expense of hers? It was unclear. He reached for her arm and lightly jogged it. Nothing.

Catherine, Nick and Ray had all come down as soon as they heard what happened. Becca went over to the older CSIs and told them what she had seen on her way there. While Catherine talked to Nick's.. girlfriend, he and Langston rushed over to check on their injured colleagues. Greg was still in a daze, and upset that Riley wasn't waking up.

"Riles, come on!"

Riley's eyes were shut. Her chest was still and she was bleeding from multiple gashes and cuts on her face and around her neck area. Ray checked for a pulse and eventually, he found one. The blonde was alive but unconscious. "Is she alive?" Sanders questioned the elder men worriedly. "She's alive."

"How did this happen?"

"Riley.. she- uh- she saved my life. The evidence.. from the car is over there. Riley got the pictures of the bomb that was in the trunk before it detonated."

Nick went over to the evidence boxes and checked them. Inside, they both contained many pieces of evidence and their cameras. The CSI checked through the camera roll towards the end and that's when he found the pictures of the bomb. Greg wasn't lying. It was smart. That made it a lot easier to find out how the explosion was caused and who put that in there. "There's pictures on here."

CSI Willows told a patrol officer to take the 'witness' away and joined the rest of her team. "So you and Riley were processing the car when she found a timed bomb. She warns you, takes pictures and grabs the evidence before you two run out?" Greg nodded, staring at his unconscious partner. He wanted her to be okay. That she would wake up, and yet, he still couldn't be completely hopeful. She'd taken a nasty amount of impact for him. Something he would never be able to thank her for.

The ambulance had taken some time to arrive, but as soon as it did, both CSIs were on their way to the hospital. That left the remaining three to carry on with what they had started. Dayshift had been called in to help them with the case, while they looked into the explosion part of the case. Greg and Riley had gotten hurt doing their jobs and the rest of the team knew that they had to find their killer before any other incidents took place.

None of the three could believe what had happened. "Do you think the killer knew we would be investigating the double homicide?" "Possibly. That or the bomb was made by someone else and meant for the victims, but they'd been killed before they could get blown up." Catherine sighed, and as did Langston. Nick had gone to talk to Ashley about what she saw along with Brass leaving the two older members of the team to try and figure out how this happened.

Catherine observed the garage, trying to see if anything looked out of place or unfamiliar. "Adams saved Greg and suffered more impact from the explosion than he did, which would indicate that the explosion went outwards as opposed to up." Ray didn't say anything and nodded.

"Adams is a great CSI. I hired her on my own accord and when I heard what happened, I had to check it out." Ecklie said.

Willows pointed to the garage. "Greg has a concussion and Riley.. she's not too stable."

"Oh God. You're going to find out who did this?"

"It's what we do." Ray shrugged.

* * *

In the waiting area of the Crime Lab, Nick was talking to his girlfriend about the incident. He needed to know what she saw. "Ash, what did you see?"

"Nicky, I was going to ask your friend.. Greg?.. for some directions and I'd seen him in the garage earlier so it seemed like a good idea, but I saw them laying on the ground. Bloody and beaten. He tried to wake the blonde up but she wouldn't wake up. He immediately became a little distressed when she didn't, reasonably. Then you guys came."

Becca knew that Riley remembered her from when they went to college together. They studied Criminal Law at the same time. She was quite hurt seeing Riley in a state like that, and even Greg's demise had affected her. There was something in his eyes that gave her a warm impression. One she liked. Trusted. Working for internal affairs, Ashley knew all about these things but had never once actually witnessed it. And it was worse than she could've ever imagined.

The older CSI hopelessly trying to wake up his partner while all she did was lie still. It was painful to watch. "Did you touch either of them?" "No. I waited for proper assistance." Nick didn't know if that was good or bad. As much as it was great that the evidence was conclusive and aligned with her story, although, part of him wouldn't have minded if Becca had checked for a pulse on either and called 911 sooner.

"How did the explosion look?"

"Internal. The impact was definitely more prone to going sideways than upwards. They got flung awfully violently."

"..You could've attended to them sooner. Riley's suffered severe head trauma and Greg's still concussed. The truth is.. it's not good. We were already trying to solve a homicide, and now.. this. I don't blame you for what happened to them.. but you need to think more as a concerned bystander rather than an internal affairs officer."

The intervention was interrupted by Catherine who came in with a worried look on her face. "Nicky, we need you to go over the evidence they collected from the car." "Ok."

He left Ashley where she was and followed his boss out of the room. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to see Riley. I'll let you know if anything's happened."

"Ok."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: While the team are working on a double homicide, Nick's girlfriend makes an appearance and an incident takes place. Kinda casefic.

Disclaimer (so I don't get sued): I don't own anything. All rights reserved.

Story Notes: Set around Season 9.

\- CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -

Catherine arrived at the hospital as she'd gotten the message. Something wasn't right and she had to know what it was. As she was led to her CSI's room, she saw Riley laying there with a bandage around her head. "How bad is it?" "Second degree burns to the back and the arms, head trauma.. she might have trouble remembering certain things for a while until they come back to her. She's regained consciousness." The supervisor out her hands to her hips and sighed. That wasn't good. She needed her CSI. Riley was a valid part of the team, and even though they'd had their differences, she still respected her team member and colleague.

"Can I speak to her?"

"Sure. She can't speak yet, but there's a notepad on the side."

The older woman nodded to the doctor, before she slowly pushed the door open and entered the room. Riley saw her supervisor enter and merely waved to CSI Willows. Catherine smiled to her CSI and stood beside her hospital bed. "Hey Riley. You feeling any better?" The blonde reached for the notepad and pen, then began writing. She turned around the pad and it read 'Yeah but my head still hurts pretty badly' in block writing.

"Do you remember seeing anything on the bomb when you opened the truck?"

The firearms expert began writing again. On the page was a much long explanation that took her five minutes to write out:

_'When I opened the trunk, I saw the bomb. There was a watch attached to it, set to four o'clock. The timer was counting down from 30 seconds. I saw an empty paintbucket but didn't have time to look inside it. From how it sounded, it sounded like there was a gun inside.. maybe a revolver?'_

Adams handed her the piece of paper she wrote on, exhaling softly. She hoped Greg wasn't too hurt, she'd tried to expose herself to most of the damage in hope of sparing him from anything too harmful. "Thank you Riley. I'm going to go see Greg now.. but Nick will stop by later."

_'Will you tell me if he's okay?' _

Catherine watched as she wrote and smiled. "He's got a concussion and a few cuts.. but he's good."

_'I tried to make sure I took most of the damage. The evidence should be in two labelled boxes.'_

"We got it. I'll come by later and update you on the case."

_'Thank you.'_

The supervisor nodded to her firearms expert. Riley had finally accepted the change in supervisor. She'd realised how much Catherine cared about her team and how good of a leader she was. Adams hadn't doubted it, she just had never been too prone to change. But when she heard all the voices around her, she knew that they cared. Even if she was the newbie. And honestly.. she didn't mind Catherine at all. It was awfully kind of her to come and see her when she could be leading the case, and the investigation into the explosion too.

"You rest now, Adams."

"Will do." She croaked, a small smile coming to her face.

* * *

Back at the lab, Greg was sat on the couch with a glass of water and fresh bandaging over the cuts and slight burns watching the news on TV about a trial for a killer the team had put away a few weeks ago. He didn't know how Riley was doing and the guilt of allowing her to take so much damage was getting to him. But she would be okay. He knew she was strong, and kept him strong when he didn't know how to be. That's how they'd gotten to be such close friends already. They understood one another in a way that neither could've really imagined.

"Hey Greggo, how are ya holdin' up?" Nick asked as he entered the break room.

Greg gave a forced laugh. "Bored."

The Texan chuckled, pouring himself his second cup of coffee. "Riley gave us a lead." The DNA expert sat up as soon as he heard the mention of Riley. "How's she holding up?" His concern seemed to be rising the longer he'd not seen her. At the hospital, he'd gotten treated and was sent home. Home, as in, back to work. He figured that he might as well help out in the case best he could.

"She's shaken up, but she's alive. Wrote you a note that she handed to Catherine." The older CSI walked over to the couch and plopped himself beside the younger man, handing him the folded piece of paper. Greg merely smiled, taking the paper from Stokes and reading it himself. Hearing from her was something to calm his nerves. As he was her partner, he partially felt responsible. He was supposed to be looking out for his new teammate, not the other way around.

It read: _'Hey hairpuller! Cat told me you'd been a little antsy and I wanted to let you know that the surgery went well and they stopped the bleeding. Recovery isn't going to be hard, even with these slight burns. I tried to make sure that I protected you (and the evidence) at all costs. Not your fault :) - Charlie'_

Adams never usually signed off using her full name. Not unless it was for work purposes or something serious. Even the little smiley face she'd drawn brightened up his mood. They still needed to find out who rigged that explosive, but with Riley's pictures and her statement, it could bring them even closer in their investigation.

"Nick! I've reconstructed the bomb." Ray said as he popped his head in briefly.

"Ok, I'll be right there. Sit tight Greggo and I'll get you the file afterwards."

Nick finished off his coffee and chucked the cup into the bin, making his way out with Langston to the lab he'd been working in. If they could get anything off of the reconstruction, it would be a big help and could get them closer to finding the culprit, as well as possibly the murderer.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: While the team are working on a double homicide, Nick's girlfriend makes an appearance and an incident takes place. Kinda casefic.

_Disclaimer (so I don't get sued): I don't own anything. All rights reserved._

Story Notes: Set around Season 9.

_\- CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -_

* * *

Ray arrived at the Fingerprints lab, in hope that the results on the tape lifted from the explosive device. From what they'd salvaged, he'd been able to get something out of the remaining parts of the device. He found a transmitter, tape, a watch (like the one Riley had described) and the broken screen where the timer would've been displayed. He needed to know where the fingerprints had them.

"You're here for the print from the tape, right?"

Ray smiled. "Yep. Got the results?" The Fingerprints analyst handed him the sheet with the suspect's personal portfolio. "The bomb maker is one.. Hayden Delacruz."

"Hayden have any priors?"

"He was arrested for assault and battery a couple of years ago. Also did time for possession and assaulting a police officer."

The CSI thanked her and went to go tell the others what he'd learnt. Now they knew who the bomb maker was, it meant they could finally find the killer of their victim's. The dayshift had already followed up on a few leads but this new information could help them find their killer. He found Catherine in her office, going over what the dayshift CSIs had collected so far.

"Catherine,"

The blonde looked up at him. "Oh, it's you, Ray. What do you have?"

"The person who made the bomb. Lifted his fingerprint off some tape."

The supervisor's expression lit up. "Great. Ok, so we should bring him in?" "I think we should wait a while. We need to be sure we can connect him to the murder first." Catherine nodded. Ray really had been taking his training seriously, and it was showing quite clearly. So they made their way to the layout to piece the evidence together. This murder needed to be established properly. They needed the killer, a confession, and also a way to link the bomber to the murder of their victims.

"Ok, so go through it, what do you have from the original murder?"

CSI Jack Alexander (aka 'Alex') from the dayshift, pointed to the murder weapon. "We lifted some prints. Came back unknown." He ran through everything they'd processed and all the leads they'd followed. Some positive, some not so helpful. The trace Greg had collected from the steering wheel of the car was still being processed and Mandy still had a long lasting amount of fingerprints to go through, so they'd have to wait a bit for Trace and Fingerprints.

Catherine nodded. "Got anything specifically valid to the case, Alex?"

Alex picked up the wrench Riley had gotten from the car. "This is the murder weapon. Adams collected it from the back of the car. Blood on the receiving end matches both our vics. The handle was wiped clean but we did manage to get Trace that could match the type Sanders found." Catherine smiled. That was more like it. Once they got the Trace results back, they might end up with a possible lead. For now, A/V was the only lab that could help them with the others swarmed in piles of evidence.

"Alex, go with Greg to Archie and see if we can get anything off of CCTV."

"Yes ma'am." He said, picking up the bagged CCTV footage and making his way to the break room to fetch Greg before he went to A/V.

Nick sighed. "If we can figure out who was driving the car before it exploded, maybe we could find out who killed the vics because the murder weapon only helps us confirm the cause of death, and doesn't lead us to anyone in particular."

"We'll come up with something. We always do." Catherine insisted.

"I don't know, Cat. There's been no shortage of suspects for the double homicide... but, now we have the bomber, we might be able to find out who he was communicating with in his phone records."

"Go look into it, Nicky."

"I will. I'll page you when if I find anything."

Ray nodded. "I'll be here."

Nick left Willows and Langston in the layout, going to another lab to look into a little hunch he had. "How's Riley doing?" "I went there yesterday. She's recovering well."

"That's great. It's definitely not the same without her."

"It isn't. I need her to hold down the boys with me." Catherine said, laughing to herself.

Ray laughed too, continuing his notes on the case.


End file.
